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History
In 1993 Denver residents confronted an onslaught of gang activity and street crime which climaxed into the “Summer of Violence.”
There were drive by shooting, innocent children were shot. We heard an AK-47 in the backyard, people running in the streets.
—Herb Sanders, community partner
Inner city workers, social workers, family counselors and probation officers were overwhelmed were families had so many problems.
—Trudy Swain, Program Director
In response, a group of 122 concerned urban churches and social agencies sponsored rap concerts with anti-gang messages.
We attracted 5000 kids in 5 nights.
—Luis Villarreal, SOY Founder
Following the concerts, youth were encouraged to call a designated phone number, to give feedback and insight on the current crisis. Large numbers of youth called requesting a counselor or someone to help them with the struggles they were experiencing.
We had 800 kids who said ‘I’m in trouble, I need help.’
—Trudy Swain, Program Director
In 1995, Save Our Youth (SOY) was organized to meet the needs of urban youth by connecting them with caring adults who could take an interest in their daily lives and futures.
The issue today is disconnection. We believe that we have the vocabulary for hope and that resulted in developing a mentoring program where we have an adult who comes in and fills the gap where a parent has left a hole.
—Luis Villarreal, SOY Founder
To find out more about SOY’s history, view the SOY video.
